Worth the Wait
by crueltyandthebeastx
Summary: Cassie has worked hard on a surprise for Cole but as fate would have it, there's a surprise in store for the both of them today.


Everything was perfect.

Everything was planned.

There was no backing out now, not even if she wanted to.

And she didn't want to because she'd spent a lot of time on this. Cassandra Railly had her contacts but Lord! It had taken a long time to track down the information she sought and suffice to say, though the name she was looking into wasn't popular there were still a few more than just Him.

Searching for James Cole took a long time. Not because there were hundreds but because she was looking for a specific one and her contacts weren't usually certified in finding little boys who would be four years old today.

Yes, it was James Cole's birthday today. Here in 2015 he would be four years old but the Cole she knew would be…what, now? That would make him thirty-two!

Balloons – both helium filled and otherwise – and streamers were everywhere. A sign that read "Happy Birthday Cole!" was strung up across the archway between the main part of the bookstore and the front room which served as the foyer space. The party favors didn't hit like a bomb went off until a body crossed the threshold into the main room where Cole and she did all of their research and planning.

James.

She had to keep reminding herself that his real first name was James. He'd given her Cole because it was familiar to him but kept a certain distance between them; now that they'd both practically watched each other die and both had saved the other's life at least once, they both were far more relaxed with one another. Cassie still remembered the day she came back home as midnight to find him bleeding and half dead on her floor… She closed her eyes and sucked in a deep breath before letting it slowly out her nose. "That was one time, Cassie. Get a hold of yourself." She ordered herself aloud. "James is…he's safe with you. Nothing bad will happen to him. He made it to thirty-two because of you and Jones."

Cassie skipped into the kitchen and pulled the cake from the fridge – a chocolate cake with chocolate mousse between the layers, chocolate icing with blue and green orbs done in foil appliqué on it, the words piped on it script that said "Happy Birthday James, Love Cas" – the 'love Cas' was in smaller script in the bottom corner but she wanted him to know this was her idea and hers alone. Aaron would have even entered her mind about this; he didn't care about Cole. He was selfish and needy and wanted Cole gone. Cassie couldn't involve him in this special day; she wouldn't.

A knock at the door shook her from her own thoughts. It must be James. Cassie turned her wrist toward her, the other hand flipping the face of her watch up to face her. It was one in the afternoon and she'd asked him to be there at two. He was nothing if not punctual. What a Prince Charming! "Coming! I'm coming!" She called, skipping happily with great bounce, pomp and circumstance, into the foyer. By the time she arrived she heard the lock tumbling back and Cole had the door halfway open.

"Hey!" She beamed at him, her ponytail flipping around behind her head as she came into his line of sight.

"H-hey…" Cole blinked a couple times, confused and a bit taken aback. He could never understand Cassie's happy almost perky disposition. Was she like this all the time? Or was it just him…? He paused in his place between the outside and the in, his fingers still hanging off the doorknob. "Sorry I'm late…?" He was just assuming; he was always late.

"Psssshhh…" Cassie sounded, waving off the apology. "You're not late."

"I'm not…?"

"You're not; you're actually about an hour early, give or take a couple splintering minutes."

He smiles wide, proud of himself. "Really? Hey, that's awesome!" He dims his smile down now, looking sideways, sheepish. "I-I didn't wanna be late. You said you had something to share with me this time. I didn't wanna make you wait."

Cassie blushed; she couldn't stop smiling if she wanted to. Not with remarks like that… "I do have something to share and I hope you like it." She opened the door wider and directed his attention at the sign across the doorway, the sign that was for him and him alone. "This is just the start."

"I-it's my birthday?" He crooked an eyebrow and almost cocked his head to the side. He could barely even remember having a birthday as a kid.

"Yeah! Happy birthday, James!"

He blinked and furrowed his brow, a small blush creeping impishly up on his cheeks at her calling him James. "How do you know?"

"How do I know what?"

"How do you know it's my birthday?"

"I…I checked…" Cassie didn't want to reveal her confidential informants. Just in case…maybe she needed another favor someday…?

His brow furrowed some more, his eyes darker, more brooding and confused. "You checked up on me?"

"I…James…we're…we're family."

His mind stopped working so hard to understand, his breath died in his chest and his words in his throat. His eyes bored into hers as he searched for something, anything, to say.

"We're family…and I love you, James…" She beamed a great wide smile that reached her eyes and crinkled the corners.

"You do? Y-you love me?"

"Yes."

He stared her down again, further confused all over again.

"Is that okay?" Her eyes almost dropped at the same time her smile did, a bit of sadness creeping in. She didn't want to push him. She had feelings but that didn't mean that they were there for him, in his heart.

"I-it's…it's new." He smiled tightly, wanting to seem okay but not knowing how to be, not fully anyway.

"Good." She said simply, smiling softly back. "Because I do and it's you and me now…just you and I."

She leaned into his personal space, placed her hands on his chest as if the push him away, but instead leaned further in and laid her soft plump lips on his own. The kiss was soft, sweet, no more intent than the act itself before Cassie pulled back and saw the beat red color on James' face and the wide eyes now as they opened after the kiss broke.

"Holy smokes…" He said like a little kid.

She giggled girlishly. "Yes…holy smokes."

His eyes became normally round again and he licked his lips. "You're a good kisser." He commented shyly while his face remained aflame.

"You haven't seen anything yet, James." Cassie teased, winking once with her right eye.

"Ulk." Was all he managed, more sound than word or phrase. "Where I come from the guy kisses first." It was an attempt to right the cosmos and prevent himself from looking anymore completely inept as a man. He was being a little schoolboy right now.

"Well you were taking too long." Cassie grinned slyly. "And I wasn't about to wait until 2043, James Cole."


End file.
